Vehicle classified website Carmudi is set to launch in the United Arab Emirates this week as the Rocket Internet-backed startup aims to expand to 20 countries before the year is out.

Having only launched in October, the website is aggressively expanding into emerging markets in true Rocket-Internet style.

Carmudi will join just a handful of Rocket companies already in the Middle East that includes clothing website Namshi, takeaway ordering website HelloFood and taxi app EasyTaxi.

The website charges dealers and consumers to list cars, vans and motorcycles on its website, and aims to become the go-to website for car sales, in a similar vein to Autotrader, which is popular in the Western world.

“The idea is to become an expert in the car industry,” Stefan Haubold, co-founder and managing director, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. “A one-stop shop where people can also get advice.”

Carmudi is expanding in South East Asia and Africa, and set up last week in Vietnam. It is also currently available in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nigeria, where it has 10,000 cars listed, according to Mr. Haubold.

In the U.A.E., Carmudi aims to list thousands of cars in the next few months and promote the website through search engine optimisation and target marketing on social media. It will compete with classified website Dubizzle, which has a strong following among expats selling second-hand cars in the Emirates.

Mr. Haubold was coy on the manner in which Carmudi was funding its expansion, and instead pointed to announcements that have been previously made.

So here they are. Globally, Rocket Internet and its subsidiary companies together raised more than $1 billion in funding from May 2012 to about the same point last year.

What’s more, it also set up a partnership in December with South African telco MTN to create Middle East Internet Holding, or MEIH, a joint venture investment business with equity split between the two parties. Rocket and MTN said they intend to invest some EUR300 million via MIEH and another investment vehicle in Africa.

Already in the Middle East, Rocket has partnered with iMENA Holdings, which is supported by Abu Dhabi telco Etisalat, to invest in internet companies. iMENA invested $7 million in Rocket Internet’s Easy Taxi as it looked to expand in Saudi Arabia, and also paid $8 million for equity in HelloFood as the website also entered the Kingdom.

iMENA has not invested in Carmudi, according to the company. It already has an investment in OpenSooq.com, a classified ads portal and SellAnyCar.com, a car sales website that aims to take the hassle out of flogging a vehicle in the U.A.E..